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Coast guard many doctors in Israel, so many some do not work as doctors. I was in army with man from argentina whos brother worked as builder. The brother was a doctor. :)

I have a friend in the IDF medical command told me that they are hurting for Doctors, especially the ones that follow combat units. The 9 to 5 clinic doctors, they are okay with, it's the ones that have to follow combat units, they are hurting for doctors the most. He told me that Brig-Gen Nachman Ash is trying to find doctors or medical students in the US who are willing to do their residency in the IDF.

I am new here.
My name is Teun van Blaricum,I'm Dutch and 23 years old.
I live in the Netherlands and right now I am serving in the
Royal Netherlands Army as A soldier.

As we speak I am beeing trained to become a Sergeant of an Infantry squad at the Royal Military school so there is a lot of going on. My Future has Afghanistan and Africa written all over it.

But! I want to serve in the IDF.. Cav. Recon.. or something like that. Damn I want to fight over there because everyone knows these guys are some of the best-trained, most well equipped, best disciplined soldiers in the universe.

I would like to find out if I can join the IDF forces. So I can learn from them and maybe settle in IsraŽl. Why would I do that?.. well because I admire the surviving spirit of the Jews.. the Fighting spirit of IsraŽl and the way they stand up for themselves is just how every free people should act.

But I am not jewish, I can't speak hebrew, I actually never heard of it. I just have some jewish friends and a lot of admiration for them.

But I am not jewish, I can't speak hebrew, I actually never heard of it. I just have some jewish friends and a lot of admiration for them.

Can anyone tell me if I can sign up or not.. and how?

Sorry, but for foreign volunteers, the IDF only accepts Jews into active military service. There are several, non-combat related volunteer programs available - some working on army bases and others in hospitals - but for regular military service, you'd have to be Jewish.

M*A*S*H
Jan. 29, 2009
Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST
Reuven Dressler walked away from an assistant professorship at the University of Maryland; Leandro Keselman passed up a prestigious internship at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan; and Erik Baltaxe left behind fascinating genetic research he was leading in Colombia.
Besides being doctors and Jewish, the three don't have that much in common. Dressler is from Baltimore, Keselman from Buenos Aires and Baltaxe from Bogota.
The thread that links the three of them is that they all left behind prestigious and promising careers to make aliya and serve as doctors in the IDF.
Not a simple task for someone like Dressler, who is married with three kids. But simplicity is not what the three are looking for in their lives.
"Some family members thought I was crazy," says Dressler, 37, who now lives in Ma'aleh Adumim. "What brought me to do this was a combination of ideology and Zionism... I think Israel is where Jews need to live."
The average Jew who makes aliya at 37 and with three children would not have to serve in the IDF. But with a shortage of doctors in the IDF, there is no longer an age limit for olim doctors to do military service.
The track for olim doctors is fairly simple. Once drafted, the doctor goes to the Tzrifin base near Rishon Lezion for a 14-week training course. In most cases, the doctor will then serve for 18 months, some in combat battalions, others in army clinics.
Keselman, 34, made aliya in 2002 after completing his medical studies in Argentina. He came here without knowing a word of Hebrew but quickly caught on and began his internship at Poriya Hospital near Tiberias.
Like many new olim, Keselman initially fell through the bureaucratic cracks and wasn't called up for service. However, he wasn't willing to pass up the opportunity to serve and voluntarily contacted the draft office, enlisting for a year and a half. As the doctor for an armored battalion, he joins the troops on operations in the West Bank and along the northern border.
"Forty percent of the time I am a doctor and 60% of the time I am an administrator and officer," he explains. "Someone who thinks about coming here needs to ask himself what he wants out of life. Not everything is about money. It's not easy, but I'm proud of what I am doing."
Baltaxe adds: "Israel is the security deposit for the entire Jewish world and we need to take care of it."
PRIDE, IDEOLOGY and a chance to serve in the Jewish army is basically all OC Medical Corps Brig.-Gen. Nachman Ash has to offer doctors when recruiting them in the Diaspora. Ash admits he cannot compete with the private sector, particularly overseas, but what he can give is an opportunity to join a battalion on late-night missions in the West Bank and Gaza and to properly integrate into Israeli society by joining the IDF - the country's melting pot.
"You have to love it," Ash explains. "And there are a lot of olim who come and love every moment they are here."
Ash makes no secret of his interest in this article. He is hoping that it will draw the attention of doctors around the world, particularly in North America, England and Australia who will consider the option of making aliya and serving in the IDF. He even gives his office fax number - 972-3-737-6333 - so doctors thinking about aliya can contact him directly.
"We need doctors and we are in a difficult period right now, since as we speak we are missing close to 100," he says.
The causes for the drop in the number of doctors in the IDF - there are battalions and training bases that don't have permanent doctors - has mainly been caused by the drop in the number of post-high-school Israelis who joined the Medical Corps' scholarship program in which the student's draft is deferred until after he completes medical school at the army's expense in return for a commitment to several additional years of service. This has forced the corps to look for alternative resources, such as Jewish doctors in the Diaspora.
Ash is in contact with the Jewish Agency and Nefesh B'Nefesh regarding potential olim and is personally in touch with several Jewish doctors by e-mail. He is also in the preliminary stages of opening the first private IDF medical school.
"We are willing to do our best to accommodate the needs of the doctors," Ash says. "There are basic requirements since this is, after all, the military, but we are willing to be flexible."
While the pay is not that great, its also not that bad with the IDF paying olim doctors around NIS 10,000 a month.
In addition to enticing new olim into service, Ash is also trying to get Israelis who have already completed their service and are almost done with medical school to come back to the military as combat doctors. These doctors are offered a one-time grant of NIS 50,000 and a car if they sign on for two years. Ash also promises to help with finding a prestigious residency following their service. The same applies to young olim doctors.
There are two basic tracks in the Medical Corps. The first is to be a doctor in a clinic, basically a 9 to 5 job. The second track is in the battalions, where the doctors not only treat sick or wounded soldiers but also, if needed, fight alongside them.
The second track is where the IDF is hurting most. In the battalions, the doctors undergo a special course, called military trauma life support, where they are trained to treat gunshot and shrapnel wounds.
"I am sure that that we can get between 10 and 20 olim doctors a year," Ash says. "This will make a huge difference, especially if a percentage of them go to the battalions."
KESELMAN GREW up in Buenos Aires and vividly remembers the two terror bombings there - in 1992 and 1994 - against the Israeli embassy and the AMIA Jewish community center that killed more than 100 people. "The attacks made me realize that I need to be in Israel and that there is no other place for Jews," he says.
It took him almost a decade, but in 2002 after completing his medical studies and even trying out for a prestigious residency at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, Keselman made aliya. He began his residency at Poriya Hospital in obstetrics and gynecology.
"There isn't a doctor who doesn't dream about working in the United States," he replies when asked how he passed up working in New York, "but in the end being in Israel and serving in the IDF was more fulfilling."
Once, he says, his unit was on patrol in the West Bank and came under a rain of rocks. The next day, one of the rock throwers was seriously wounded in a car accident. Keselman was the first doctor to arrive on the scene.
"One of the questions I found myself asking was whether I am first a soldier or a doctor," Keselman says. The answer, he says, he discovered last May in Nablus where he participated in a raid on a terror suspect's home. Clashes ensued and the troops opened fire, wounding the suspect they had come to arrest. Keselman found himself treating a suspected terrorist.
"Despite the dilemmas, at the end of the day I am a human being and need to do what I think is the right thing," he explains. This is in fact the IDF policy, he adds, to treat terror suspects even if they are wounded after opening fire at the troops.
Baltaxe was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia. He came here in 2005 following his medical studies and after abandoning a successful genetic research project. "It was important and interesting work," he says, "but I wanted to come live in Israel." Despite the difficulties and the leave that included every other weekend, Baltaxe doesn't regret serving in the IDF.
"The IDF is part of life here in Israel," he says. "If you are going to live here, then it is important to also serve in the military."
Dressler, the oldest member of the group, is also the only one married. He was an assistant professor at the University of Maryland Medical School as well as a practitioner and is a certified specialist in family medicine. Not your run-of-the-mill IDF doctor.
"There is no doubt that I was on a good track back in the US," he says. But that track came to an end in August 2007 when, together with his wife, Elana, and three children - six, four and two - he decided to move here.
The IDF, he says, was "wonderful" and "considerate" with his family situation. The military also recognized the fact that Dressler was not your average medical school graduate but had years of experience practicing and teaching.
The training, he says, opened for him a whole new world of medicine.
"There is much more of an emphasis on trauma," he says. "It also takes some getting used to the hierarchical system and communication across ranks... They teach us how to work within the system."
If asked, Dressler says, he would advise people not to push off aliya because of military service. "The army will work itself out. To serve in the army is a big thing and is the opportunity to be able to contribute to something special." Medical innovations
In the recent Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip, the Medical Corps incorporated two new life-saving products which were instrumental in saving soldiers' lives. One is called "combat gauze" and replaces the "personal bandages" that every soldier receives the day he is inducted. Manufactured by Z-Medica, the QuickClot Combat Gauze will be supplied to medics and field doctors. While the old bandage stopped bleeding by placing pressure on a wound, the combat gauze uses a hemostatic agent that coagulates blood and prevents blood loss.
Each bandage costs about $30 in comparison to the old personal bandage that costs only a few cents. For that reason the new bandages will be given only to medics and field doctors. The gauze is in use in the US military.
"We have learned a lot from the Americans," OC Medical Corps Brig.-Gen. Nachman Ash said. "And we have decided to follow in their footsteps and experience when it comes to products for trauma cases."
The other product is called combat application tourniquet (CAT), a small lightweight one-handed tourniquet that completely stops arterial blood flow in an extremity. CAT uses a band and buckle, combined with a one-handed windlass system. The tourniquet used in the IDF until now was an elastic band that did not have an attached windlass, or stick for tightening. Medics are trained today to use a stick to tighten the tourniquet.

If your all that desperate to see some action and your country's military doesn't have enough action. You all should see about trying out for the French Foreign Legion. At least with the French Foreign Legion, they will send you to see action.

It just makes me wonder why you people want to join the IDF, when your not Jewish or you don't have a skill, such as medicine that the IDF wants.

Hello there,
I would need somebody's help. I am all confused and preoccupied, because I am not sure whether or not I would be admitted into the IDF.

I am a non-Israeli Jew, 19 years of age, and am doing Business as a 4 year university program. When I finish with my career I will be 23; I will know Hebrew once I am about 23 - am in the learning process. TO THE POINT: I will really like to join the IDF, but would only accept a 'better job', incl. combat unit. I would not like to be in a unit of English speakers, because I would like to get to know the Israeli mentality and culture.

Would I have the chance to experience all these wishes? How long does the screening and registration process actually take? Do I have any chance to get into intelligence, considering myself to be qualified due to experience and education? And just to make sure, I am willing to sacrifice my life for Israel.

Hello there,
I would need somebody's help. I am all confused and preoccupied, because I am not sure whether or not I would be admitted into the IDF.

I am a non-Israeli Jew, 19 years of age, and am doing Business as a 4 year university program. When I finish with my career I will be 23; I will know Hebrew once I am about 23 - am in the learning process. TO THE POINT: I will really like to join the IDF, but would only accept a 'better job', incl. combat unit. I would not like to be in a unit of English speakers, because I would like to get to know the Israeli mentality and culture.

Would I have the chance to experience all these wishes? How long does the screening and registration process actually take? Do I have any chance to get into intelligence, considering myself to be qualified due to experience and education? And just to make sure, I am willing to sacrifice my life for Israel.

The last date of eligibility for enlistment in MAHAL is your 24th birthday.
MAHAL is a program designed for non-Israelis to serve in the IDF. As to preference of who you serve with, you might end up in a french speaking unit of volunteers.
Over 95% of all MAHAL enlistees end up as riflemen in Infantry. In MAHAL you have little to no chance of being in Intelligence.

If by age 23 you are fluent in hebrew, understand Israeli cultural norms and expressions and how Israeli social interactions work, have a college degree at a major university, and are willing to serve additional time, then you might have the chance to compete physically with 18 year olds for key spots in special forces. This of course means you could not serve in MAHAL, but would serve as a regular soldier. Many 24 year olds going as a regular soldier serve around 18 months and are then assigned to a reserve unit. Again, usually infantry.

As to only "accepting a better job", with all due respect - get over yourself. Are you coming to serve the nation of Israel or coming to fulfill a dream of your own? I am assuming you were #1 in your high school, are currently attending an Ivy League School where you are going to graduate Summa Cum Laude, captain of the Football team and editor of the school newspaper. Because that is your competition for top spots in the IDF. And the people you are competing with all have parents, older brothers and even older sisters who went before them into the desirable units. ANd were recruited in many cases in their senior year of High School. Who will be your advocate?

Want to spend two years peeling potatoes in the IDF? Show up with an attitude that you are there to be a "Special Forces " or nothing soldier.
You state in your note that you are willing to die for Israel, but are you willing to do what Israel needs you to do? Even if that means standing at a chek point eight hours on, eight hours off for weeks ata time? FOrgive me, but you want the IDF to love you for your mind, but all it really wants is your body.

You should sort this out.

Now I realize I am being harsh, but that is how we do it in Israel. You now know what you are getting. I would suggest you read the other 200 posts form others who are willing to allow Israel to have them if they can serve in Special Forces - or nothing. I gave them the same advice.

I am a non-Israeli Jew, 19 years of age, and am doing Business as a 4 year university program. When I finish with my career I will be 23; I will know Hebrew once I am about 23 - am in the learning process. TO THE POINT: I will really like to join the IDF, but would only accept a 'better job', incl. combat unit.

I think that Rafi has already pretty much told you the score. Having the desire to serve in a combat unit is not the same as having the necessary motivation to serve. Only the best recruits are inducted into the elite units - and you would be in competition with Israeli youths who have spent their high school years preparing themselves physically and mentally to compete for a very limited number of slots. That doesn't mean that you cannot succeed in joining an active infantry unit, but it would be no trivial task.

The individuals that I know who have made aliyah, and stayed to make a life in Israel, did so out of a supreme moral commitment. It was not a spur of the moment decision, and they had no illusions regarding how difficult it would be. Most of them came with a plan. They either knew someone (family or friends) who could help them get started in Israel, or they had a profession that they knew would allow them to find work. None of them came with a plan to serve in an elite army unit. They came knowing that some form of military service, however mundane, was part of citizenship.

If you want to get some flavor for the experiences of olim who have been accepted into Israel's armed forces, there are a wide array of autobiographical accounts that have been published. I have added a selection below. I recommend them, not for the political leanings of any individual author (many of whom differ greatly from my own), but rather for their descriptions of day-to-day life in the Israeli armed forces.

Anyone who thinks that they are joining an Israeli infantry unit in a quest for adventure is going to be seriously disappointed. It's a lot of long hours of grueling training, and a lot boring guard duty. It's not a Hollywood movie and there is no glamour. It is however, an all too real necessity. The war is real, the casualties are real, and every soldier has a role to play. Every army wins or loses as a team.

To borrow a phrase from USAF servicemen, "Without crew chiefs, pilots would be pedestrians with really cool glasses." There are many ways to contribute without actually serving on the front line, and they are all important and necessary to the functioning of a modern army.

I would start by examining why you want to serve, and what you are willing to sacrifice to have that privilege. Are you doing it out of a sense of duty, and a willingness to make a lifelong commitment to the State of Israel? Would you be willing to accept an assignment to a non-combat unit, out of that same sense of duty?

Good luck to you, whatever you decide. Just be aware of what is really at stake here, and what it is that truly motivates you.

Thank you, Rafi and Haamimhagolan, for your very helpful posts. I apologize for the arrogant tone I used when saying I "would only accept a better job" and when saying that I would be "considering myself to be qualified due to experience and education", it really wasn't my intention.

I should have explained my situation in more detail. I mentioned I "am doing Business as a 4 year university program", because I thought there were sections in the IDF dedicated to logistics. And I actually didn't mean wanting to serve in the special forces, because I have paratrooping fobia. It's because the pressure that is regularized through the inside of my ears takes longer than with other people. I will figure out as the time passes and as I research about Israeli and Jewish history why I am commited to this decision, but leave that up to me.

I do have family in Israel, but to be sincere, I have never even spoken to them. I hope I will not need to give them any paperwork in the process, though I am not sure whether I will be living with them or not. I thought I would get into a combat unit if I wanted to, I'm not sure now. It's just that, if I may correct myself, I do not believe it's my education that gives me hope going for intelligence, but my experience. I would not necessarily consider University of Victoria - British Columbia as an Ivy League School. I am a middle class Canadian; I lived amongst other places in Peru, a very poor country. What I am trying to say is that I am very adaptable to many situations. If I am ordered to work as a guard or to clear out tunnels in southern Gaza I would do so. I am just not willing to sit in an office not even practicing something close to logistics.

As I've already said, let the reason for joining the IDF up to me. I am a too mature teenager who sees in Israel not only the possibility to learn another culture and mentality, and not only the possibility to learn Hebrew and Levantine Arabic. Israel is a lot more to me. I will be able to find people from whom I can enrichen my soul with wisdom, which undoubtly comes in painful packages.

Finally, I thank you both tremendously for your effort and time you dedicate to this forum.

The last date of eligibility for enlistment in MAHAL is your 24th birthday.
MAHAL is a program designed for non-Israelis to serve in the IDF. As to preference of who you serve with, you might end up in a french speaking unit of volunteers.
Over 95% of all MAHAL enlistees end up as riflemen in Infantry. In MAHAL you have little to no chance of being in Intelligence.

If by age 23 you are fluent in hebrew, understand Israeli cultural norms and expressions and how Israeli social interactions work, have a college degree at a major university, and are willing to serve additional time, then you might have the chance to compete physically with 18 year olds for key spots in special forces. This of course means you could not serve in MAHAL, but would serve as a regular soldier. Many 24 year olds going as a regular soldier serve around 18 months and are then assigned to a reserve unit. Again, usually infantry.

As to only "accepting a better job", with all due respect - get over yourself. Are you coming to serve the nation of Israel or coming to fulfill a dream of your own? I am assuming you were #1 in your high school, are currently attending an Ivy League School where you are going to graduate Summa Cum Laude, captain of the Football team and editor of the school newspaper. Because that is your competition for top spots in the IDF. And the people you are competing with all have parents, older brothers and even older sisters who went before them into the desirable units. ANd were recruited in many cases in their senior year of High School. Who will be your advocate?

Want to spend two years peeling potatoes in the IDF? Show up with an attitude that you are there to be a "Special Forces " or nothing soldier.
You state in your note that you are willing to die for Israel, but are you willing to do what Israel needs you to do? Even if that means standing at a chek point eight hours on, eight hours off for weeks ata time? FOrgive me, but you want the IDF to love you for your mind, but all it really wants is your body.

You should sort this out.

Now I realize I am being harsh, but that is how we do it in Israel. You now know what you are getting. I would suggest you read the other 200 posts form others who are willing to allow Israel to have them if they can serve in Special Forces - or nothing. I gave them the same advice.

Rafi
Administrator
MAHAL2000.com

Rafi,
What do you think about the IDF taking in Doctors and Nurses. Dose the IDF need Combat Doctors out on the front lines and do they have a need for paramedics.

I think that Rafi has already pretty much told you the score. Having the desire to serve in a combat unit is not the same as having the necessary motivation to serve. Only the best recruits are inducted into the elite units - and you would be in competition with Israeli youths who have spent their high school years preparing themselves physically and mentally to compete for a very limited number of slots. That doesn't mean that you cannot succeed in joining an active infantry unit, but it would be no trivial task.

The individuals that I know who have made aliyah, and stayed to make a life in Israel, did so out of a supreme moral commitment. It was not a spur of the moment decision, and they had no illusions regarding how difficult it would be. Most of them came with a plan. They either knew someone (family or friends) who could help them get started in Israel, or they had a profession that they knew would allow them to find work. None of them came with a plan to serve in an elite army unit. They came knowing that some form of military service, however mundane, was part of citizenship.

If you want to get some flavor for the experiences of olim who have been accepted into Israel's armed forces, there are a wide array of autobiographical accounts that have been published. I have added a selection below. I recommend them, not for the political leanings of any individual author (many of whom differ greatly from my own), but rather for their descriptions of day-to-day life in the Israeli armed forces.

Anyone who thinks that they are joining an Israeli infantry unit in a quest for adventure is going to be seriously disappointed. It's a lot of long hours of grueling training, and a lot boring guard duty. It's not a Hollywood movie and there is no glamour. It is however, an all too real necessity. The war is real, the casualties are real, and every soldier has a role to play. Every army wins or loses as a team.

To borrow a phrase from USAF servicemen, "Without crew chiefs, pilots would be pedestrians with really cool glasses." There are many ways to contribute without actually serving on the front line, and they are all important and necessary to the functioning of a modern army.

I would start by examining why you want to serve, and what you are willing to sacrifice to have that privilege. Are you doing it out of a sense of duty, and a willingness to make a lifelong commitment to the State of Israel? Would you be willing to accept an assignment to a non-combat unit, out of that same sense of duty?

Good luck to you, whatever you decide. Just be aware of what is really at stake here, and what it is that truly motivates you.

I have to agree with you their. It's like that here in the US. Some people who want to join the military, think it's all about the paycheck and the prestige. What people don't realize is that their are mundane work and menial work that has to get done and behind the scenes work that has to be done in order to make the military machine move.

People in here who ask all the time about wanting to join the IDF, really need to question themselves and ask why. Why would you want to give up what you have to join the IDF. Yea sure, the IDF has the best experience and the best girls on the planet, but you have to ask yourself, is it worth it and what do you really hope the get out of it in the very long run.

It just makes me wonder why you people want to join the IDF, when your not Jewish or you don't have a skill, such as medicine that the IDF wants.

Well I'm Polish and I also would like to join IDF but I know its impossible because I'm not jewish. You wonder why guys like me would like to join IDF? There may be a few answers. Some just wanna join IDF cuz its one of the best if not the best army around the globe. Others want to see action. And there are people like me whom want to stand for Israel. I'm a christian and I want to do something good for Israel because if not the Jews, if not Abraham I wouldnt have a chance to accept Jesus. If Jews would accept Jesus I would be lost so I'm thankfull mate that I can accept him and that Jews didnt :D. This is the main reason why I would like to serve in IDF. Beside, Israel has something to fight for... something that if worth fighting, killing and dieing.

What makes you think the words might be unduly harsh? Because you don't encourage fantasies harbored by a few of these posters? And pure fantasy is exactly what some of this stuff is. No matter what country a person hails from, civilians who've never spent a day of their lives in a genuine day-to-day military environment need to dump all the preconceived, politically correct garbage regarding the armed forces they have been inundated with via movies, television, video games, the leftist press, etc. etc. ad nauseam ad infinitum.

As well-meaning as these desires to enlist in Israel's defense are, let's get down to where the rubber meets the road. Three of the most prevalent pronouns in the majority of comments read here from those wanting to serve are: me, myself and I.

Not a good start for individuals wishing to enter upon an endeavor which requires maximum utilization of available resources, precision teamwork and unquestioned loyalty to the group as a whole.

__________________The maximum effective range of an excuse is zero meters!

Thanks! My words were simply to edify and reinforce the superb comments by current and prior service military personnel (particularly IDF/IAF) like yourself, Haamimhagolan and others. I certainly hope they are taken within that context by readers.

__________________The maximum effective range of an excuse is zero meters!

I'm currently an aircraft mechanic on the CF-18 with the Canadian Air Force and i'm trying to find out if it's possible to join the IAF. I haven't found too much, if any, info regarding this subject, most of it has been for the Army and Infantry folks. I'm under 24, hold an Israeli citizenship, but I'm not Jewish and have forgot how to speak Hebrew. Is there a recruiting program that I would fall under? Preferably, I'd like to work on the F-15 and -16's, but I know that is a long shot.

How are recruits chosen into the Air Force? Do they have a choice in the matter or are only the top get chosen? One last thing, are there IDF career contracts where you can chose to be in the service for 25 years or more?